Three Deaths

The last couple of weeks have been pretty hard on the famous or infamous. If you are a celebrity with health problems, watch out!The biggest of stars to fall of course was Michael Jackson. One of the best selling recording artists of all time, Mr. Jackson was more recently famous for a string of, at best, odd behaviors. It seems, like Elvis before him, Mr. Jackson was unable to cope with ‘legend’ status. I don’t think anyone is.

Closer to home and in a different field (no pun intended), the murder of football star Steve McNair is captivating the sports world. Known for playing even when crushingly injured, McNair was everything we love in football players- a modern day gladiator.

Both men had their . . . demons, shall we say. Jackson was twice accused of child molestation. McNair was murdered by his mistress. But in it all, those reporting and those just commenting seem to say the same things- let’s forget all that and focus on the good they did. Jackson was one of the most loved singers of our time. McNair was a celebrated athlete who was very active in community charities and helped rebuild neighborhoods after Hurricane Katrina.

I do not know the spiritual condition of either man for a fact. I cannot be very specific, but I can draw some conclusions. Of the two, I am less certain about McNair. He attended a Baptist church in Nashville since moving there in 1997 with the Houston Oilers, the team that became the Tennessee Titans. If he did trust Christ for all of his salvation, that is good. It is very hard to get past how a man with the Holy Spirit could walk in so long of an affair- but I don’t think it is impossible. I do think that for a converted person, it would be very unlikely. Jackson on the other hand seemed to do everything BUT trust Christ. From Jehovah’s Witnesses to Islam to even trying to be mentored by an Orthodox Jewish Rabbi, Jackson seemed to seek spiritual guidance that placed his faith in his own righteousness. There is no hope in that. There are some reports that he trusted Christ before his death, but who knows.

Neither man could be absolutely identified as someone who had Christ as his treasure.

But isn’t this blog called ‘Three Deaths?”

Christopher Leggett was killed in the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (in Africa near Senegal and bordering the Atlantic). The African arm of Al Qaeda claimed responsibility because of Leggett’s “attempts to convert Muslims to Christianity.” I did not know Mr. Leggett. My wife did. He had been in Africa with his wife and 4 children for 6 years attempting “to convert Muslims to Christianity.”

Three deaths. While the world was obsessed with two, I can only be certain Heaven was obsessed with one.

Like this:

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Three Deaths”

Wow…thanks for reminding us what this life is about. We are passing onto something ETERNAL and sadly, the world is literally obsessed with a celebrity death….so much so, we forget about so many who die daily without Christ around us. We need more God-honoring men like Christopher Leggett who must have been much more interested in what the Spirit would have him do…storing up treasures in Heaven! Thank God for Jesus who took our place….We would have never made it home were it not for Jesus!